The Hill News

Even as housing prices decline, the average home price in America is still almost four times annual income, making financing a home the only option for many people. When housing finance first took hold as the primary method by which Americans bought homes, in the 1950s, the average house cost about one year’s income. The run-up in housing prices has made it such that even those who get into homes don’t actually own them for most of their lives. They finance, often a small fraction of the value of the home (holding less than 1 percent equity in many cases).

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